Wherever You Are, Wherever You May Be
by V.E. Paige
Summary: Gendry is spending a quiet afternoon in the forge, doing his usual thing: forging. Arya has been gone for a long while and Hot Pie is still (hopefully) alive somewhere in Westeros, happily baking to his heart's desire. It would just be a normal afternoon for Gendry, right?


Gendry continued on pounding over the hot steel rod, laboring over the sword he wanted to create to perfection. Gendry took fierce pride in his skills as a smith. He hammered with the strength of a bull on the steel. And then Arya Stark suddenly slipped out of nowhere into his mind.

He almost hammered down on his thumb had he not regained his concentration a split-second early before realizing he's about to pound down his poor thumb. Quickly jerking his thumb away, he breathed in a deep breath as if to cleanse before letting it out slowly through his nose. He stood there, deep in thoughts, wondering why the thought of Arya Stark, or Arry as she was called then when York was still marching them up to the wall, suddenly decided to plant itself in his head after a long time.

The last he heard from Arya was when they chose to go separate ways, him to be a knight and a smith to the Lightning Lord's band of rebels and Arya to exact revenge from the Lannisters. Gendry remembered her daringness and her skill with her sword, Needle. Arya was truly a remarkable woman. She may have been a born a female of the House Stark but she was not and never will be a lady.

He remembered the times when both of them would get into a fight simply because of their completely clashing views. Both of them would stubbornly but heads with each other just to get their own messages to each other's supposedly thick skulls. Gendry laughed under his breath as he remembered those moments. He swore mightily when he remembered that he was actually forging and not daydreaming in the forge so he had the fire going again before heating the steel rod to remold it to his desire form.

While working again on the rod, Gendry slowed his pace to allow himself to think about his friend now. He wondered what happened to Arya now. Whispers said that she took off for Braavosi. Some said that she was married to Roose Bolton's bastard, Ramsay. Gendry grimaced at that. One rumor even said that she might have been captured by the Hound and brought back to Cersei Lannister, who is now happily eating her heart and sucking the marrow from her bones. Whether those are true or not, Gendry refused to believe any because he believes that Arya would not allow herself to suffer such a fate unless she gives up which was quite an impossible feat.

His thoughts were silent again for a moment before his mind started focusing on her physical features. Arya, as a female, was considered quite average if not an outright oddity. Her eyes were owlish, the standard eye color of Stark grey. Her complexion was pale and her hair was cut to a tomboyish length, it was hard to tell if you are looking at a girl or a boy. It doesn't also help that her chest wasn't too noticeable.

A knock on the door of the forge jolted him out of his thoughts. Curious, he wonders who would look for him at this time of the day. Setting the steel (thank the Seven that he managed to perfect the blade) on the anvil, Gendry wiped his hands on his dirty apron and walked over towards the door.

He can't quite believe his eyes when he saw the two figures standing in front of him. It was as if he conjured the very image herself out of thin air. Here stands Arya Stark, lady of the House Stark, daughter of the former Warden of the North, and who was his friend before she disappeared. And beside her was Hot Pie, grinning widely as he looked at his friend's stunned face.

"I told you he would look like a constipated ox" Hot Pie told Arya in a cheerful voice. She playfull elbowed his side before awkwardly smiling up at Gendry. Somehow, the aura about her was different. The hatred and dread surrounding her diminished or maybe it increased but her overwhelming joy, relief and excitement in seeing her friends altogether in one room seemed to overpower that.

"I just came back from Braavosi" Arya told Gendry. He still can't quite believe that Arya was here so he poked at her cheek. Surely, her skin was smooth albeit dry and her flesh was soft and _real_. Gendry's face finally broke into a happy grin as he tackled both Hot Pie and Arya, effectively trapping them in his hug.

"Gendry! I can't breath!" Arya screamed at him although it was quite obvious in her voice that she was too happy to even care too much. Gendry pulled away and examined his friends. Hot Pie was wearing a plain white shirt, brown leggings and worn-out boots. His eyes then roamed towards Arya. She wore a shirt that finally emphasized a bit the two small mounds on her chest with her slightly narrow waist and black leggings. She had Needle hanging from her shapely hip and a pair of supple boots that looked like it has seen better days. Her hair was now a little halfway through her neck but her eyes were still as owlish as they have ever been.

"We should go to the local tavern now!" Hot Pie exclaimed. Arya sighed and then looked at Gendry.

"He's been at it ever since we converged by the fork in the road" Arya explained. Gendry laughed and took off his apron, dumping it on a rickety chair by the side.

"Come on then. What are we waiting for?" Gendry enthusiastically said. Hot Pie led them out of the forge and they walked down the path towards the tavern. Suddenly, Arya turned her head towards him, a mischievous smile on her face.

"So Gendry, would you like some of those women to jingle those bells for you like those who attempted to do so the last time we were with the Lightning Lord's group of outlaws?" Arya teased him. Immediately, Gendry's ears and neck turned a scarlet red.

"Shut up, Arya" he growled in a low voice. But looking at her sparkling eyes, Gendry was reminded of the fondness he felt for Arya. Maybe now is the right time to do something about it or maybe not. What if Arya goes away again? Gendry hoped that she won't. One can expect and only wish too much. But it wouldn't hurt to try than regret not ever trying, right?

Gendry slipped his muscular arm around Arya's shoulder, a smile playing on his lips. There were no protests from Arya and certainly no threats of being poked with Needle afterwards. When Gendry looked down, he saw that there was also a smile playing on Arya's lips.

She may not be a lady and she might not stay for too long but Gendry definitely doesn't regret her for being her. He might as well accept her for that instead of getting into arguments whether one must have responsibility to lords and kings or not.


End file.
